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The Japanese government has decided to join international efforts to protect and retrieve antiquities of Iraq possibly with financial support, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
The Japanese government will "actively work for preservation and restoration of cultural heritage by cooperating with international organizations," Kyodo News quoted Senior Vice Foreign Minister Toshimitsu as saying.
A Foreign Ministry official said Japan will consider providing financial assistance after examining the results of a meeting of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to be held Thursday in Paris, which will start working on listing looted cultural heritage items in Iraq.
On Tuesday, the Japanese government announced the ban on the entry of stolen Iraqi antiquities.
(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2003)
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